Lutheran St. Charles rolls by Notre Dame in battle of No. 1’s

In seemingly poetic fashion, the day the MBCA Girls Basketball polls released, the number one teams in Class 4 and Class 5 squared off in Notre Dame and Lutheran St. Charles.

Ultimately, it was the Class 5 Cougars, backed by a dazzling performance from Jordan Speiser, the No. 20 ranked player in the Class of 2025, prevailing over the Bulldogs 69-54 on Monday.

Speiser poured in 24 points in the win, scoring from all areas of the floor and showcasing why she recently received an offer from the University of North Carolina among other Division I schools.

“We had to know where she was at all times,” Bulldogs coach Kirk Boeller said. “That was the challenge for the girls and I thought for the most part we did a really good job. She’s just a phenomenal player.”

Out of the gates the Bulldogs were engaged on the defensive end as they jumped out to an early 5-2 lead.

“We started fast,” Boeller said. “We kind of shocked them by coming out and being aggressive defensively.”

As the first quarter progressed however, the Cougars began to come alive as they led 10-9 at the end of the quarter.

The game began to slip away from Notre Dame in the second quarter though as Speiser scored 11 of her 15 first-half points while also drilling three threes in the process.

Notre Dame found themselves down 35-22 as the two teams entered the locker room at halftime.

Early in the third quarter it appeared the Cougars were going to quickly run away with it as the lead quickly ballooned to 16, but the Bulldogs battled back to get the lead down to 11.

“We talked about being active on defense,” Boeller said. “I was pleased with how we started both halves.”

With Speiser sitting following her third foul, Lutheran St. Charles didn’t miss a step as it regained momentum and held a 57-39 lead after three quarters of action.

Ultimately for the Bulldogs the game was decided by the three-point line as the Cougars made 11 threes to just 1 made three by the Bulldogs.

“When the other team shoots 70 something percent and you’re not, it’s tough,” Boeller said. “We got open looks they just didn’t fall. I was pleased with how we looked on the offensive end.”

Notre Dame’s offense was led by Kate Rubel and Neveah Lucious who both posted 13-point nights in the loss.

Also contributing was Brie Rubel and Olivia Wagoner with 9 points each.

Although the Bulldogs came up on the losing end, the game served as a much needed measuring stick for Boeller and his group.

“It showed us some of our weaknesses,” Boeller said. “It also showed us that we can hang on with some of the best teams in the state.”

Boeller said neither he nor his team get caught up in the rankings.

“Those don’t matter until March anyways,” Boeller said. “We don’t really look at those too much.”

Notre Dame (5-1) will return to action in the Visitation Academy Christmas Tournament beginning on Dec. 23.

“We’re going to go up there and see four teams that are going to be four of the best teams we see all year,” Boeller said. “That’s the reason we got in it.”